Cellular Phones Nixed

MIRAMAR — Commissioners decided Monday that their police officers do not need $12,000 worth of cellular telephones that would have allowed them to call from one city to another.

``They have enough equipment in those cars. This is just a glorified toy,`` Commissioner Vicki Coceano said of the two-way mobile phones just before the idea was voted down 4-0. ``At 35 cents a minute, and with all the other expense that goes along with it, I just can`t justify it.``

But Police Chief Roy McLaren said the two-way mobile cellular phones would have enabled police officers to communicate from one to another. The phones now in police cars allow inner-city communication only.

``Right now late at night, whether for myself, a lieutenant or a captain, the only way to communicate is to wake up a resident or use a pay phone,`` McLaren said.